Peter Beckingham
Former governor in Turks and Caicos Islands
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23rd December 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
I was fortunate recently to attend my first ever Parsi wedding. Two of the 40 or so Parsi staff in the Deputy High Commission in Mumbai, Nazneen (our press officer) and Burzin ( a member of the UKBA team), were getting married, and they had been kind enough to invite my wife and me to […]
Read more on From wedding feast to global business – never under-estimate the Parsi influence for good in Mumbai | Reply (11)
22nd November 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Mumbai is the centre of India’s film industry, where hundreds of “Bollywood” movies are produced every year. Shortly before the major Indian festival of Diwali one of the most expensive and extravagant films produced here, “Ra One”, hit the screens both in India and London. Reportedly costing over $30M the film is produced by, and […]
Read more on “Land.Gold.Women” – not your usual Bollywood drama: an honour killing in leafy English suburbia | Reply (1)
10th October 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Most Indians know that 2 October marks the anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi. That fact is less well known among UK staff in the Deputy High Commission, but they were aware enough when they joined about 700 others in a 10K walk or run at 7am to mark the date, and raise money […]
Read more on Footsteps4good – walking on Gandhi’s birthday for a Mumbai cause | Reply
3rd October 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
For the first time in living memory, and presumably ever, the British Business Groups (BBGs) around India held a national conference on 23-24 September 2011. Over 150 delegates took part, largely representing the BBGs in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Goa and Chennai. It is difficult to summarise the conclusions of such a large group, but […]
Read more on First ever British Business Groups’ national meet- ‘cautiously optimistic’ | Reply (1)
25th August 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
In the following guest blog, Collette Weston, Deputy Head – UK Trade and Investment (Western India), bids a fond farewell to her Mumbai team, Mumbai and India. I got caught in a traffic jam on my way home from work the other day. I am sure most of the other bloggers on the FCO platform […]
Read more on Three years and still like that only | Reply
12th August 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
In Mumbai, a city of about 18 million heaving with offices, accommodation and traffic, you don’t expect to find a sanctuary of calm less than 15 minutes from the international airport. But on a recent visit to call on the Global Chief Executive of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Mr Chandrasekharan (Chandra), that is precisely what […]
Read more on An IT conglomerate sharing space with bats and butterflies | Reply
8th July 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A small group from the Deputy High Commission went after work one evening to a part of Mumbai we wouldn’t normally visit. Kamathipura has numerous small businesses, and like every part of the city is a great example of entrepreneurism. That evening we saw the dark side of business, calling on the founder of an […]
Read more on A dark side of Mumbai – and a home away from ‘home’ | Reply
22nd June 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
For two consecutive Fridays I have had an opportunity to get a glimpse of how British universities are making their mark in India. On the first occasion I attended the launch of an initiative by Glasgow Caledonian University with the Deccan Education Society at Fergusson College, part of Pune University. Held at the College’s […]
Read more on Student exchanges on the increase to and from India to Britain | Reply
8th June 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Jamnagar is not one of the most well-known towns in India. For many years it must have been a small settlement surrounded by semi -arid scrubland, existing mainly as a trading place and a stop for travellers around what is now Gujarat state, and with a number of well-preserved 16th century Jain temples. Nestled in […]
Read more on Mangoes to Harrods and technology from the UK | Reply
3rd May 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
I met recently in Mumbai a former colleague, and competitor, visiting from the Enterprise Ireland trade promotion organisation in Dublin. We had worked in Sweden at the same time, seeking out opportunities for our countries in the large Swedish and Scandinavian markets. I was able to obtain an extra ticket for him to join my […]
Read more on Cricket the IPL way – or how to begin to understand the middle classes in India | Reply